This invention relates in general to wireless communication systems, and more specifically to a method and apparatus in a wireless communication unit for controlling a rate of background scanning.
A wireless communication unit must be able to perform background scanning for additional nearby channels which may be more appropriate (higher quality, higher priority, etc.) than a currently received channel. Prior-art wireless communication units either have utilized a fixed scan rate chosen to meet a desired battery life specification, or have utilized one of two different scan rates, the selection of which has been based on an average signal quality level of the channel.
In many situations, the prior art approaches have been inefficient, because a wireless communication unit can be in range of a desirable channel long before the wireless communication unit makes this determination. In some situations, considerable latency is introduced, causing the wireless communication unit to be slow in switching to an appropriate frequency or slow in registering with the system.
Thus what is needed is a method and apparatus in a wireless communication unit for controlling a rate of background scanning. The method and apparatus preferably will reduce latency as compared to prior art techniques, while still maintaining a desired battery life.